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AUGUST 24,
1918
9
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
Musical Merchandise Interests
Organize National Association
Leading Concerns in the Trade Represented at Meeting Held Last Week in Offices of Music Industries Chamber of
Commerce—Plan Measures for Protection and Development of Industry—Henry Stadlmair
Elected President—Those Who Were Present
The latest, and one of the most interesting
developments of the plans for the unification
of the entire music industry through the me-
dium of new or established organizations, each
representative of a particular division of the
music trade, and brought together through the
medium of the Music Industries Chamber of
Commerce, occurred on Friday afternoon of
last week, when the National Musical Merchan-
dise Association of the United States was or-
ganized.
It was felt by those back of the movement
that this is a time when it is not only desirous
but absolutely necessary that American mu-
sical merchandise manufacturers should or-
ganize both for development and protection. In
the first place, since the war has cut off almost
entirely the importation of band instruments and
other musical merchandise from Europe, the
industry in this country, particularly that sec-
tion devoted to the making of band instruments,
has received a tremendous impetus, and is not
only meeting with greatly increased demand in
this country through Governmental and civil
channels, but is reaching out into foreign mar-
kets. The spirit of development in the asso-
ciation is therefore manifested in the slogan
"American Musical Merchandise for American
People."
With all the developments, however, there
have come problems in the matter of material
and labor due to the war, many of them growing
out of the attitude at Washington regarding
present and future supplies of metal and fuel
for the industry, and it will be the function
of the new association, through the Chamber
of Commerce to act as a protective agent to
the trade in the handling of these problems as
they come up.
The president of the new association is Henry
Stadlmair, of C. Bruno & Son, Inc., New York;
vice-president, Howard E. Wurlitzer, of the Ru-
dolph Wurlitzer Co., Cincinnati; secretary, W. R.
McClelland, National Musical String Co., New
Brunswick, N. J.; and treasurer, R. B. Gregory,
Lyon & Healy, Chicago. The board of di-
rectors will consist of the officers, and C. D.
Greenleaf, Elkhart, Ind.; Oscar Schmidt, Jersey
City, and Carl Fischer, New York.
None was more surprised than the musical
merchandise men themselves when answering
the call of the meeting in the offices of the
Music Industries Chamber of Commerce, 105
West Fortieth street, to find over twenty-five
members of the trade present, as well as let-
ters favoring the movement from close to as
many more concerns not directly represented.
H o w a r d E. Wurlitzer was selected as tem-
porary chairman, with Frederick Gretsch, tem-
porary secretary. George W. Pound, general
counsel of the Music Industries Chamber of
Commerce, Mr. Wurlitzer and several others ad-
dressed the meeting and emphasized the neces-
sity for the unification of the trade and for
co-operation among its members, presenting
arguments that made a quick appeal to those
present, and served to speed up the work of
the organization.
Mr. Pound dwelt particularly upon conditions
existing at the present time in Washington and
growing out ,of the war, and explained that mu-
sical merchandise men could only expect to re-
ceive recognition at the National Capital by co-
operating and presenting a united front in com-
pany with the industry as a whole. He ex-
plained how the attitude of the Government
officials had changed towards the musical instru-
ment trade during the past few months, how
the first talk to the effect that musical instru-
ments were non-essential had been combated
and explained away, until that view had com-
pletely changed.
Mr. Pound emphasized particularly the ne-
cessity for compiling accurate statistics regard-
ing the musical merchandise trade, capital in-
vested, number and type of employes, amount
of materials of various sorts used annually, facts
regarding supplies on hand, and requirements
for the future, in order that the representative
of the industry could go to Washington with
definite facts upon which the Government could
Henry Stadlmair, President
base future regulations. He also pointed out
that the trade would do well to develop the
foreign market for American-made instruments
by every means, inasmuch as the Government
had looked with favor upon the exporting of
musical instruments, as providing a means for
maintaining the trade and financial balance with
other countries without taking out of the
United States materials used directly in the
prosecution of the war.
Mr. Wurlitzer in a brief talk also reviewed the
conditions that made it necessary for the mu-
sical merchandise men to band together, for
their own protection, and to lend their strength
for the protection of the music industry as a
whole. He made a strong plea for thorough
Americanism in the field, and spoke of the op-
portunities that the war had brought to the
trade in this country; opportunities that will
grow to tremendous proportions after the war,
when the industry should be thoroughly pre-
pared to take advantage of them.
Following the general work of organization
and the election of permanent officers, the di-
rectors were instructed to prepare a constitu-
tion and by-laws for the association, to be pre-
sented at a later meeting for ratification.
The fact that the members of the new organ-
ization are in earnest was emphasized by the
immediate plans made for the raising of funds
to carry on the work of the association within
itself and through the Chamber of Commerce.
To carry on this work the president appointed
as a finance committee Henry Stadlmair, R. B.
Gregory and S. Buegeleisen.
Mr. Pound invited the new association to make
its headquarters in his offices, an offer that
was speedily accepted.
Among those who attended the meeting were
Henry McLaren, of the Oliver Ditson Co., Bos-
ton; J. H. Collins, of the Buescher Band Instru-
ment Co., Elkhart, Ind.; Samuel Buegeleisen,
Buegeleisen & Jacobson, New York; Fred
Gretsch, Fred Gretsch Mfg. Co., Brooklyn, N.
Y.; Henry Stadlmair, C. Bruno & Son, Inc., New
York; E. Simpson, Simpson & Frey Mfg. Co.,
New York; George Bundy, of A. Selmer, New
York; A. Burdwise, Baltimore, Md.; W. L.
Lange, Rettberg & Lange, New York; H. L.
Hunt, Chas. H. Ditson & Co., New York;
George W. Maulbetsch, Maulbetsch & Whitte-
more Co., Newark, N. J.; August Gemunder,
August Gemunder & Sons, New York; F.
Preufer, Penzel, Mueller & Preufer, New York;
C. D. Greenleaf, of the C. G. Conn Co., Elkhart,
Ind.; Howard E. Wurlitzer, Rudolph Wurlitzer
Co., Cincinnati; Frank Gibson, Jr., Gibson Mu-
sical String Co., Belleville, N. J.; O. M. Tomp-
kins, Armour & Co., Chicago, 111.; George J.
Ross, Ross Mfg. Co., Leomiuster, Mass.; Oscar
Schmidt, Oscar Schmidt, Inc., Jersey City, N.
J.; Herbert G. Moss, George S. Bond & Co.,
Charlestown, N. J.; R. A. Mango, New York;
Carl Fischer, New York; W. A. Copeland, the
IMionoharp Co., Boston; A. T. Marty, U. S.
Mfg. Co., Baltimore, Md.; R. B. Gregory, Lyon
& Healy, Chicago; and W. R. McClelland, Na-
tional Musical String Co., New Brunswick, N. J.
Those concerns who, while not represented at
the meeting, sent letters strongly favoring the
move and asking to be enrolled as members of
the association included: Diamond Whip Co.,
Chicago, 111.; Wilson & Co., Chicago, 111.; Geo.
\i. Stone & Co., Boston, Mass.; Sam C. Osborne
& Co., Chicago, 111.; the Vega Co., Boston, Mass.;
Christensen & Co., Boston, Mass.; M. Zumer,
Chicago, 111.; Frank Holton & Co., Elkhorn,
Wis.; Eugene Geissler & Co., Chicago, 111.;
Regal Musical Instrument Co., Chicago, 111.; the
Gulden Co., Columbus, O.; J. W. Jenkins'
Sons Co., Kansas City, Mo.; Tonk Bros. & Co.,
Chicago, 111.; C. C. Ward, Boston, Mass.; Euro-
pean Method Co., Leominster, Mass.; Cundy
Bettoney Co., Jamaica Plains, Mass.; Elkhart
Band Instrument Co., Elkhart, Ind.; and Leedy
Mfg. Co., Indianapolis, Ind.
F. E. L. CASSIDY IN FRANCE
Former Steinert Salesman Has Arrived Safely
Overseas
Francis Edward L. Cassidy, formerly a sales-
man for the M. Steinert & Sons Co., Provi-
dence, R. I., has arrived safely in France. He
is the son of Hugh S. Cassidy, manager of the
Woonsocket branch of the Steinert concern, and
is enlisted in the Quartermaster's Corps. He
has been in service since December of last
year, and after several months of training at
Camp Johnston he embarked for France.
OU ought to see the Schaff
Y
B r o s . Style 23 Solotone
Player, for it is the most mod-
ern player. The price is right, too.
WANT OUR SPECIAL PHOTO OF ITT
HUNTINGTON, IND.